The Seven Last Words on the Cross (1)

[Luke 23:34-43]

Starting today, I want to meditate on the seven words Jesus spoke on the cross. From the time Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane by the chief priests, elders, scribes, and soldiers, until He was nailed to the cross, He spoke very little. The words He did speak were all truth and gospel (Matt. 26:34; 27:11; Mark 14:62; 15:2; Luke 23:3, 28-31; John 18:20, 21, 23, 34, 36, 37; 19:11). Apart from these words, Jesus did not say anything out of intense pain or suffering. When Jesus was led to Golgotha with two criminals, they likely said all sorts of things, but Jesus kept silent. This fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah 53:7, which says: “He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.”

Though Jesus remained silent, on the cross He spoke seven sayings:
(1) The first saying is in Luke 23:34: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
(2) The second saying is in Luke 23:43: “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.” (This was said to one of the criminals.)
(3) The third saying is in John 19:26-27: “Woman, here is your son” (verse 26) (spoken to His mother), “Here is your mother” (verse 27) (spoken to the beloved disciple).
(4) The fourth saying is in Matthew 27:46 (Mark 15:34): “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
(5) The fifth saying is in John 19:28: “I thirst.”
(6) The sixth saying is in John 19:30: “It is finished.”
(7) The seventh and final saying is in Luke 23:46: “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”

When we look at these seven sayings of Jesus on the cross, Matthew (27:46) and Mark (15:34) record the same saying once; Luke contains three sayings not found in Matthew, Mark, or John; and John records three sayings. Together, the four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) present the seven sayings Jesus spoke on the cross.

Today, I want to share the grace God gives as we meditate on Jesus’ first saying on the cross, found in Luke 23:34. We should hold this saying of Jesus on the cross in great value. Luke 23:34 says: “Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.’” [(Contemporary Bible) “At that moment Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive these people, because they do not know what they are doing.’”]

This message is the prayer Jesus offered to God the Father (we too should pray like Jesus, sharing words with God; that is, our prayers should be centered on God’s Word). The addressee of Jesus’ prayer was “Father,” and the content of the prayer was “Forgive them.” Here, “them” refers to those who crucified Jesus, but broadly, it also includes us. The people who crucified Jesus did so out of ignorance—they did not know what they were doing [Reference: New Hymnal No. 144, verse 2 of “Jesus Died for Me”: “What sin did He bear on the cross? Those ignorant people killed the Messiah.”]. We also sometimes sin without knowing or understanding what we are doing. Even Jesus’ disciples did not understand when Jesus said, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:19)—a reference to His death and resurrection. They only remembered and believed these words, along with the Scriptures, after Jesus rose from the dead (verse 22).

The Bible teaches that there are sins that can be forgiven and sins that cannot be forgiven. This is found in 1 John 5:16-17: “If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life—for those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for that.” [(Contemporary English Version) “If you see your brother sinning and it is not a sin that leads to death, pray to God for forgiveness, and God will give him life. But there is a sin that leads to death; I do not tell you to pray for that. All wrongdoing is sin, but not all sin leads to death.”] Sins committed in ignorance can be forgiven. Jesus’ prayer on the cross, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34), was answered. How do we know? The author Luke, who wrote the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts, records that God responded to Jesus’ prayer on the cross by enabling many whom God chose before the foundation of the world to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ, believe in Him, repent, be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, receive forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38), and be saved: (verse 41) “Those who received the word were baptized, and about three thousand were added that day”; (4:4) “Many who heard the word believed, and the number of men came to about five thousand”; (5:14) “More and more men and women believed and were brought to the Lord”; (6:1,7) “At that time the number of disciples was increasing rapidly… the word of God spread, and the number of disciples in Jerusalem increased greatly, and many priests became obedient to the faith”; (21:20) “When they heard this, they praised God and said to Paul, ‘You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews have believed.’” Even now, Jesus’ prayer on the cross for the forgiveness of sins is being answered.

Currently, Jesus is seated at the right hand of God and intercedes for us (Romans 8:34). Hebrews 7:25 says: “Therefore, He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them.” [(Contemporary English Version) “Therefore, Jesus can save completely those who come to God through Him because He always lives to pray for them.”] Jesus, who is eternal and ever-living (verse 24), intercedes on behalf of those who come to God through Him to save them completely (verse 25). This is because God desires that all people be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:4). Therefore, we too must pray to God the Father like Jesus, saying, “Father, forgive them” [“Father, please forgive these people”] (Luke 23:34). As we pray, we must believe that the Holy Spirit, who dwells within us, helps our weakness by interceding for us with groanings too deep for words according to God’s will (Romans 8:26-27), and that Christ Jesus, who is at God’s right hand, intercedes for us (verse 34). We must also proclaim, like John the Baptist, “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Luke 3:3). And we must boldly preach the gospel of Jesus Christ—His death on the cross and resurrection—by faith, like the Spirit-filled apostle Peter (Acts 2:14-36). When we do this, those who hear the gospel through us and feel convicted in their hearts asking, “What shall we do?” (verse 37), we should answer: “Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call” (verses 38-39, Contemporary English Version). Or we should say, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you and your household will be saved” (16:31). Thus, not only they but their entire households must believe in Jesus to receive salvation (verses 33-34). When this happens, those who were spiritually dead because of trespasses and sins are made alive again (regenerated) (Ephesians 2:1, Contemporary English Version), and we should rightly rejoice and be glad (Luke 15:32, Contemporary English Version).

Let us all make the lyrics of New Hymnal No. 150, “On Calvary’s Mountain,” our prayer theme and praise together:
(Verse 1) On Calvary’s mountain stands the cross, the sign of the Lord’s suffering; I love the rugged cross because the Lord shed His blood.
(Verse 2) My heart is drawn to the cross of the despised and rejected Lord; the precious Lamb bore the sins of the world and carried the rugged cross.
(Verse 3) Looking with faith at the blood the Lord shed on the rugged cross, it is the blood He shed to forgive me and cleanse my sins.
(Verse 4) On the day the Lord calls me to the home He prepared, I will serve faithfully with our Lord in glory until death.
(Chorus) Until I gain the final victory, I will love the Lord’s cross; until I receive the shining crown, I will hold fast to the rugged cross.

Let us all love the Lord’s cross until the final victory because it is the sign of His suffering and because the Lord shed His blood. Let us all resolve to know nothing except Jesus Christ and Him crucified (1 Corinthians 2:2). Let us all look with faith at the blood the Lord shed on the rugged cross—it is the blood He shed to forgive and cleanse us. Let us all hold fast by faith to the rugged cross of Jesus Christ until we receive the shining crown.